Forgive me for being late. The week-end was busy for me. I'm not forgetting anyone who reads this fanfiction.


DAVOS II

"Matthos, get down!"

The instant after his son disappeared. The place where he was the fraction of a second before was engulfed in green fire, and Davos was thrown overboard as his ship was torn apart by the blow. He fell to the black water. He fell but never came into contact with the water of the bay. His fall was without end, and as it carried on, the dark damp was filled with flames, red flames.

"The night is dark and full of terrors, old man, but the fire burns terrors all away. Death by fire is the purest death."

As she said so, the fire turned green. It surrounded Davos, until the flames licked his feet, then his legs, his arms, his neck, his face, his eyes.

He woke up screaming. Standing high before the desk on which Davos fell asleep last night while working, the Red Woman looked at him, displaying a neutral expression.

"Having trouble to sleep, Ser Davos?"

It took some time for him to clear his mind from the nightmare he just made. "I don't remember giving you the permission to walk in," he retorted, scrubbing his eyes.

"Why do you think I need your permission? The king will summon you very soon. I thought it would be better if you were ready before."

"You thought? Really?" He frowned. "You said he will summon me soon?"

"He will."

"How do you know that?" She gave him a look that told clearly it was obvious. "Of course."

He stood up, removing some imaginary or real dust from his clothes, anything to not look at the woman in front of him. He had fallen asleep on the scrolls he struggled to read last night. The princess Shireen had come to help him, but a single week of lessons wasn't enough to make up for a life without reading. Matthos was trying to help him as well, but he was quite occupied. And so Davos was.

Three days since they took the city, and for three days they fought the fire that devoured it district by district. Priority went to the most important ones, like Aegon's Hill or Visenya's Hill, where remained the Red Keep and the Great Sept of Baelor. They managed to keep fire from this place, and also from the Guild of the Alchemists and their stocks of wildfire, but not much more. Flea Bottom was gone, and so were important market places. From time to time, a new explosion would be heard, when a cache of wildfire would be reached by the flames. The Alchemists themselves didn't know where all this wildfire came from.

"I just wanted to be sure we agreed on some matters, before the small council meeting, Ser Davos," the Red Woman said.

"I doubt we will ever agree on anything, my lady."

"We both want the same thing. We want Stannis to be king."

"Not for the same reasons."

"And yet we share a common goal. No matter what you think, Ser Davos, we both try to serve our lord the best we can."

"Not the same lord."

She smiled and walked to the window. Davos wasn't used to live in such lavish rooms, but Stannis gave him the apartments of the Hand of the King since he actually was the Hand of the King. He still didn't know what he would do of all this space. Right now, it was used to house soldiers and guards for the most part.

"The city is still burning."

"And it will keep burning unless we stop it," he retorted.

"Fire cannot be tamed." She turned to look at him. "But that is not the reason of my presence. The fate of Cersei Lannister will be decided today."

"And how can you know that?"

"I know," an enigmatic smile creeping over her lips again. Her visions once more, probably. "The false queen must be burned at the stake."

Davos chewed his lips before he answered. "Cersei Lannister must die, on that you'll hear no objection from me, but I see no point in making her suffer. The executioner block and a good sword will do."

"The Lord of Light will not be satisfied with this."

"Stannis owes nothing to the Lord of Light. He is a king."

"And yet the Lord of Light granted him victory."

"Do you have any proof of it?"

"Look at the fire all around you, Ser Davos. You cannot find better testimony of our Lord's will. Stannis' reign is beginning in the fire."

"Is it the will of your Lord to burn innocents alive?"

"Sometimes sacrifices must be made to ensure victory. And if you had not advised our king to leave me behind at Dragonstone, perhaps the wildfire wouldn't be ravaging his city right now."

Davos scoffed. "Don't count on me."

"As you wish, Ser. But a day will come when you'll understand you were wrong to see me as the enemy. Because I'm not the enemy here. Death is coming for everyone and everything. A darkness that will swallow the dawn."

She walked away to the door, but before she left the room, she faced him one last time. "Be careful with your son, Ser Davos. He's not safe."

Davos was puzzled by her last words as she left. Should he have Matthos being watched? Was that a threat? It would be useless to tell the king. He would have to take dispositions himself. A messenger came to tell him the king requested his presence. Davos walked to the small council chamber immediately.

When he arrived, the king was alone with his Master of Ships. Lord Monford Velaryon had been named at the position because of his quick answer to Stannis' summon and his contribution to the royal fleet. During the battle, he had been in the vanguard with Davos, his ships sinking two of Joffrey's ships and capturing another. He also lost one to the debris projected by the wildfire explosion. Overall, a courageous man, experienced on the sea like Davos, loyal and honorable, but also proud and impatient. He was among the men who urged Stannis to storm the walls of the city as soon as possible. He was already boasting about the fact he occupied the king's previous office on the small council, though he did it discreetly.

"The ships are safe, your Grace, but as long as the fire continues, we won't be able to start major repairs, even less to build new ships," he was explaining.

"I know that damn well. That's why I'm putting all efforts to protect the harbor, and why I ordered you to build more ships in your own wharves at Driftmark."

"It will take too much time, your Grace. For every ship we build, the Tyrells and the Lannisters will have three more ready. And now that Loras Tyrell is dead, nothing stops the fleets of the Arbor and Oldtown from attacking us whenever they want."

It was good to hear the opinion of another man of the sea. Ser Davos Seaworth may have been a smuggler who did everything to avoid Monford and Lord Velaryon a ship commander who did everything to arrest smugglers like Davos, they both lived on the sea and understood it better than any man spending his time on land. Davos used the opportunity to jump into the conversation.

"Your Grace. Lord Velaryon. If you would permit, I think the Greyjoys might offer us an opportunity. If we could make a temporary alliance with Balon Greyjoy..."

"I won't make an alliance with an usurper," the king stated. Despite the tone that meant there was no further place for discussion, Davos tried to go on.

"It would only be temporary. We could convince the Balon Greyjoy to attack the Westerlands and the Reach instead of the North for the time we need to deal with the Lannisters and the Tyrells. After that we could deal with the Iron Islands. It would also free the North from the threat of the Ironborn and help them to focus on our enemies."

"The smuggler is not wrong, your Grace," Lord Velaryon said. "It would benefit us on the short term to only focus on the Lannisters and the Tyrells, and it would relieve our allies."

"The Starks and the Tullys are not my allies. They are my bannermen, my subjects," Stannis retorted.

"Of course, your Grace, but still it would relieve them. Winterfell has been taken. If Robb Stark will not head back north, he will certainly want it," Davos argued. "And it would force the Greyjoys and the Lannisters to fight each other instead of only fighting us."

The king did not speak for a time. Davos could see he saw the sense of the option, but Davos suspected it wouldn't change the king's mind.

"I'm not making any alliance with an usurper, temporary or permanent. If Balon Greyjoy wants an alliance, he can surrender, and his daughter or his son, whoever his heir is, will help me against the other usurper."

Davos held back a sigh. It was difficult to advise a king like Stannis. The Hand's badge was pinned on him, on his right shoulder next to his lucky pouch. It felt so awkward on him. He often forgot to wear it, but for a small council meeting, he had no choice. He still had a hard time believing Stannis named him his Hand. He would have expected someone else, of noble birth, probably Alester Florent, the queen's uncle, to take the office. He said so to the king, but as usual the king had made his mind and he wouldn't be moved from it. Davos had no choice but to accept an honor he never wanted.

The other members of the small council arrived shortly afterwards. Alester Florent, Master of Laws, and Axell Florent his younger brother, Master of Coin, took place side by side. The Red Woman came in not long afterwards. Stannis made her Mistress of Whisperers against all expectations, and to the fury of the High Septon. The latter had come to the Red Keep, braving the fire that devoured the city to speak to the king about it, and to refuse to crown him as long as this foreign priestess remained at his service. He left the castle an hour later, white like a blanket, after a private discussion with the king and Melisandre. The next day he crowned Stannis.

The last to come was Grand Maester Pycelle. They found him in the black cells, missing a beard and desperate for anyone to save him. He had showed his gratitude to Stannis in innumerable stuttering words since he left the black cells. Stannis maintained him at his position, even though he didn't trust him. But the Grand Maester was chosen by the Conclave of the Citadel, not by the king, and Stannis decided it wasn't an important enough office to ask the Citadel for another. Furthermore, Pycelle had been sent to the cells by Tyrion Lannister and resented the Lannisters for this. The chances for betrayal were thus reduced.

As always, the king didn't lose time with courtesies.

"Let's go down to business. We still have several fires to extinguish. I trust you, Ser Davos, to make sure they disappear before the whole city is burned to the ground."

"We do the best we can, your Grace," he said.

"That's not enough. Do better."

Despite the bitter voice, Davos knew the king didn't resent him for that. The fire was started when pots of wildfire near the Mud Gate exploded during the battle. The explosion reached a cache under the city walls and started a chain reaction with other caches until everything near the Mud Gate was on fire and it spread quickly to the rest of the city. It was the result of Cersei and Tyrion Lannister ordering massive quantities of wildfire to defend the city. Stannis Baratheon was not making any reproach, just ordering him to find better ways to quench and control the fire.

Ironically, it was the attack of their men from inside the city that may have caused this. Petyr Baelish had sent messages to Stannis a few days before the battle, giving him details of secret passageways that led inside the city. Stannis had not trusted Littlefinger, but he sent men to verify the claim all the same, enough to cause trouble behind the walls if the secret passageways indeed existed. And the passages were there. About three hundred men found the passage, used it to emerge in a back alley near the Mud Gate and attacked its defenders from behind. The gates were opened, Stannis' entered the city... and wildfire exploded.

They had no news from Littlefinger. The man who gave them his message didn't know where he was, or so he claimed. He said a complete stranger gave him the letter with the information on the secret passageways under the city and a bag of silver to deliver it to Stannis, and so he did.

Petyr Baelish should have come to Stannis personally. If he had helpful information to provide to the king, then Stannis would have listened to him, then probably give him a chance to prove his loyalty before he forgave him for serving Joffrey for months, while still making him pay for his early betrayal. A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad the good. Each should have its own reward. Instead, Littlefinger disappeared, and Stannis was not about to forgive a man who refused to bend the knee before him.

No trace of Varys, the Spider, was found either. According to the few people in the Red Keep they could question, Joffrey the bastard died in mysterious circumstances the night during which Tyrion Lannister and his army abandoned King's Landing. Some suspected the Imp to have killed his nephew. There had been a huge argument between the Lord of Casterly Rock and his siblings the night before he abandoned the city, apparently. They had left with Sansa Stark as well, keeping a precious hostage with them. As a result, Stannis didn't face a full army when he attacked, and despite the absence of the Starks and the Tullys, he could easily take the city.

"Now, a scout arrived this morning," the king resumed. "The army of Robb Stark is only a day away from us. I intend to head for the Reach the day after he arrives. The levies of the Crownlands will join us on our way. I will conquer the lands of the Tyrells with the help of the lords who are loyal to me down there and the army of the Stormlands that already invaded it. Then we will turn north and enter the Westerlands by the south, where their defenses are the weakest. Lord Velaryon and his fleet will circle Dorne from the south and head for the Arbor to destroy the Tyrell fleets in the meantime. Once the Lannisters and the Tyrells are dealt with, I will deal with Balon Greyjoy and crush the Iron Islands once and for all."

"A sound plan, your Grace," Lord Florent said. "My house will be glad to help in the conquest of the Reach. I wouldn't want to be presumptuous or presume that I can ask for that, but once the Tyrells are defeated, we will need for a new Warden of the South, and my house..."

"It's useless to presume you may ask or not for this, Lord Florent, when you already asked," Stannis cut short. "For now, our priority is to conquer the Reach. I will decide the fate of Highgarden and who gets to become Warden of the South once the Reach is ours, not before. Suffice to say that this honor will not go to someone who's done nothing for their king. My enemies will be destroyed, you can be certain of that. Whoever decides to support Tommen the usurper will perish."

"What about Dorne?" Ser Axell wondered. "The other bastard of the false queen is betrothed to Prince Doran's heir. They are traitors as well."

"They are, but we will deal with them in due time. The Dornish are keeping to themselves and stay in their deserts. The army Doran Martell stationed at his borders didn't move for the whole war. I doubt he has any attention to take part to this war. But they'll have to surrender the false princess when the time comes, or else they'll be destroyed as well."

"If I may, your Grace," Pycelle began, "Princess Myrcella..."

"Only Myrcella. She is no princess, she is a bastard born of incest."

"Uh, yes. Sorry, your Grace. Myrcella is merely a child, and a woman as well. The rules are clear. The closest male relative of the king is his lawful heir. If Tommen was to die, then you'd have precedence over the girl, and she would be no threat to you as such."

"She will always be a threat as long as she is alive. And in Dorne, the elder is the heir, no matter he is man or woman, which means the Dornish might see Myrcella as the rightful queen. I won't have a possible threat in my kingdom."

"We may ask Prince Doran to keep Myrcella as a ward for the time of the war, and offer him to participate in the war by attacking lands in the south of the Reach. The Lannisters offered him a few territories in the Stormlands. We could guarantee him the same, or offer lands in the Reach instead against their help," Davos proposed.

"I don't have anything to give them. If they want something, they just need to fight for me, and then they can expect me to reward them afterwards."

"But their help could be useful against the Reach," Davos kept arguing. If he couldn't get the king to make a temporary alliance with Balon Greyjoy, then perhaps he could convince him to make an alliance with Dorne. At least he got to try. "Dorne has fought the Reach for centuries. They are long time enemies, and even with Robb Stark's men, we will still be fewer than the Tyrells and the Lannisters."

"I won't have bannermen who need promises of lands and gold to rally to me. I am their king, it is to me to reward them after their deeds are done, not for them to demand rewards before they've accomplished anything."

"Our king has the Lord of Light on his side," Melisandre declared. "That is all he needs. The very fact we're sitting here is proof that R'hllor watches over him. Fire brought us victory."

"And many dead as well," Davos countered. "If we lose as many men in future battles as we have at Blackwater, then after two or three battles we will be lost."

"Enough. I won't have any of this. I've made my decision. We will invade the Reach, then the Westerlands. And then we will deal with the Ironborn, not before," the king stated.

"Our fleet is at a disadvantage from a numerical point of view," Lord Velaryon said, " but we'll never be readier than today. I just wish a part of the royal fleet was not gone when we came. Some of the best ships it had are now in Dorne, and I doubt their crew will surrender to us. By the time we reach Dorne, they'll probably have joined the Tyrell fleets at the Arbor and Oldtown. This will reinforce our enemy."

"As you said, there's nothing we can do about it. Have the ships prepared and ready to leave in two days."

"Yes, my king."

"Now, to another matter I must take care of now as I'm leaving soon. Cersei Lannister."

"She must die," Lord Florent stated.

"Don't you think I know it? Of course, she must die, and she will. However, she is a lady, and she was my brother's wife, his queen not long ago. She's going to die, aye, but I intend to leave her the choice as to how she wants to die. What do you say?"

"It appears to be a decent kindness, your Grace. The least we can offer to a queen, though we could also keep her as a hostage for future negotiations with the Lannisters," Pycelle said.

"Cersei Lannister is a former queen. Selyse is the only queen now. And it is not the least I can offer her, it is the most. I do not do it out of kindness but out of duty. She was Robert's queen, but that's all. She represents nothing in my eyes. She must count herself lucky that she was married to my brother. And she would be useless as a hostage. Tyrion Lannister left her behind. It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't care about her at all. What do you think of it, Ser Davos?"

Davos was surprised that the king asked him directly his opinion. But after all, he was Hand of the King now.

"As far as I'm concerned, your Grace, Cersei Lannister must die. The method matters not. Perhaps we can give the least painful death we can find, but aside from that there is little I can say on that matter that you've not already said. Let's execute her and be done with it."

He met the gaze of the Red Woman. She looked... disappointed. Did she really expect he would support he idea to have the former queen burned alive? Of course, that was the moment someone else at the table intervened.

"This woman does not deserve any respect, your Grace." It was Ser Axell. "She may have been your brother's wife, but she betrayed him. She committed incest with her twin brother and three children were born out of it, all monsters in the face of our Lord. She stole your crown and placed it on the head of one of her monsters, and another still claims he is the king and not you. She must suffer for what she did, and what she gave birth to. She must burn at the stake."

Silence followed that declaration. Melisandre was next to speak.

"Her crimes do not matter here, although Ser Axell is right. Cersei Lannister must be burned alive to bring the Lord's favor on our king's upcoming campaign."

"Burning seems a little..."

The Grand Maester didn't finish what he started. His eyes met Melisandre, who raised an eyebrow, and immediately Pycelle ceased to speak.

"With all the respect that is due to you, my lady, even though I have embraced the faith in the Lord of Light, very few in King's Landing have. Turning the execution of the former queen into a sacrifice might indispose some people towards us and make us lose possible allies," Lord Alester Florent said.

"Our king's best ally is the Lord of Light," she said sweetly.

"Ser Davos, you said the method to execute Cersei Lannister didn't matter. What say you now?" The king asked.

Davos inhaled deeply before he replied. "Although I think the method doesn't matter as long as she dies, your Grace, I don't think it would be appropriate to burn her at the stake with the fires ravaging the city as we speak. This would give you the image of a king who mocks the suffering of his people, even if you don't. And I agree with Lord Alester when he says turning the execution into a sacrifice to the Lord of Light might create us new enemies."

"If you sacrifice him the false queen, your Grace, the Lord of Light will be with you through your journey. Cersei Lannister must burn if you want this war to go the way you want, and if you want to be king. Remember it is thanks to our Lord that you are sitting here today," the Red Woman declared.

Stannis seemed to ponder over Melisandre's last declaration. Finally, he stood up.

"I've made my decision, and I see no reason to come back on it. Cersei Lannister will die the way she wants. If she wants to burn, then so be it, but I don't give a damn whether she dies hanging, her head chopped by a sword or an axe, drowning or starving to death. That's a choice I leave to her. This council meeting is over. I have more pressing matters to attend to. Lord Valeryon, Lord Florent, come with me. I must prepare my troops for tomorrow. You'll accompany me. Ser Davos, I entrust you with the city while I'm away. Make these fires cease and ensure it doesn't fall into our enemies' hands. I wouldn't be surprised if the Lannisters come back when they learn I've taken the city."

"Yes, your Grace" he replied, a little surprised, though the king's choice made sense.

As Hand of the King, he spoke for the king when he wasn't there, and since the king probably wouldn't be in the capital for a long time, then it was only fitting that his Hand remains to rule in the meantime. Davos shuddered at the thought of the task ahead of him. The biggest thing he ever ruled was the small keep the king granted to him and his wife after he saved him at the Siege of Storm's End. He never administered anything closely as big as a city, even less a kingdom. After all, if Stannis was on campaign, that would mean Davos would also have to deal with the Crownlands. He thought he might soon miss his small keep.

Melisandre walked to him as the king was leaving.

"The king is making a terrible mistake. He listens to me, but he doesn't trust me. He trusts you, however. Convince him to burn Cersei, or else he will never rule the Seven Kingdoms."

"My lady, you should know by now that when Stannis takes a decision, he doesn't change his mind. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a city to rule, and fires to extinguish."

And indeed, that was what he kept doing for the rest of the day : quenching fires. What helped them was the rain that began to fall around noon. It slowed the progression of the fire, allowing Davos' men to secure the last vital parts of the city, such as the harbor and the Guild of the Alchemists, that were not protected from its destruction. From now on, they could hopefully focus on reducing fires around merchant squares and the neighborhoods where people actually lived, and not only the rich people but also the poor.

Late in the evening, Davos was attempting to read scrolls again. Matthos had prepared him a sheet with the letters of the alphabet, but a few days trying to learn to read wasn't enough for him to make sense of half of the words he looked on the paper. This one was a raven from Castle Black, on the Wall. Pycelle said it should be a good practice for someone who didn't know how to read.

"T... o... To... h... i... s... his... To his G... r... a... c... e... Gr... Grace, I guess. To his Grace, t... h... e... How do we say it yet?"

Pounds at the door. It opened to allow in a small girl with greyscale on her left cheek. Davos smiled.

"Princess, you're disturbing an old man while he's working, I'm afraid."

"You're not old. Pycelle is. But he's not working like you."

He laughed. The young princess came to sit in front of him. "What can I do for you, princess?"

"I want to visit the cellars where the dragon skulls are, but Mother won't let me. Could you talk to Father, ask him to tell her that I can?"

"I'm sure if you ask him yourself, he will grant you the permission."

"He doesn't have time to see me. Mother stops me from seeing him."

Davos sighed. The only person who could overturn the queen's authority on her daughter was the king. And the only one who could talk to Stannis about such a matter was the actual Hand of the King. That meant him. "I'll talk to him," he promised, though when he could bring the matter on the table he didn't know.

Shireen smiled, all happy. Then she looked at the things on the desk and the parchment right in front of Davos. "Have you been trying to read?"

"Trying, princess, is quite the appropriate word."

"You really never learned to read before? No one ever thought you that?"

"Alas, I was born in Flea Bottom, princess. A boy from the streets doesn't really have time to read. And a smuggler either. We must know how to sail, we must understand the seas, know when we can sail and when we cannot, but reading? We don't get much use out of it. I didn't think I would be Hand of the King one day. Had I known, I might have learned before."

"What are you trying to read?"

"I'm not sure. A raven from Castle Black, from the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. But I only know where it comes from because the Grand Maester told me. I could only read that it was addressed to your father, so far."

"It's not long enough. You should try with something longer, and funnier too. That kind of message seems dull."

"I'm quite sure, princess, but that's the kind of reading a Hand of the King must do."

"You should try this." The princess had been carrying a book when she entered. She laid in front of Davos. "It's a history of the Targaryen kings of Westeros, by Archmaester Gyldayn. Try to read the title. Just the three big words."

Davos tried to read it, but to no avail. He couldn't recognize the letters. He looked at Matthos' paper, but none of the letters he saw were there. "You're reading it upside down, you know," she noticed.

Realizing his mistake, Davos rotated the book to have the title in the right sense. Then using the alphabet Matthos wrote down for him, he began identifying the letters, then turning them into syllables. At least he tried.

"Fi... r... Fire... Fire... a... an... and... B... l... Blo... Blood... Fire and Blood. Fire and Blood." Shireen clapped her hands. "Thank you, princess. The Targaryen words. I'm sure it's a nice book."

"It is. You could try to read it. I can help you."

"I'm afraid without your help I would not be able to read it anyway."

And so they began to read. The first paragraph was an ordeal, and so was the second and the third. But he endured. By the time the author began to talk about the origins of House Targaryen, Davos had started to find it less tortuous.

The princess helped him until late in the evening, then Matthos, who had been sent by Queen Selyse, came to bring her back to her chambers. Davos went to bed. The next morning, the execution of Cersei Lannister took place. It was said that when the king offered her to choose the way she would die, she laughed and refused to make a choice. The king gave her the whole day to consider. That very morning, the former queen still refused to choose, for according to her, Stannis had no choice to offer her. The choice belonged to her by right since she was the queen, and Stannis couldn't give her a choice to make. In her madness, she finally let escape that if she was to leave, she wished to leave the same way the man she loved and her children would leave this world. Stannis satisfied her wish.

She was brought to the courtyard, with only the nobles and the people of the Red Keep to witness her execution. She was showed the heads of Jaime Lannister and their son Joffrey, planted on spikes over the battlements. Davos saw her burst in cries when she saw them. And so it was a wailing and screaming queen, cursing Stannis and swearing revenge to him one moment, then begging for his mercy the next, who was brought to the executioner's block. It was the king's justice, Ser Ilyn Payne, who Stannis maintained in his position for he was not considered a threat, who removed Cersei Lannister's head from her body. Davos could only agree that, despite the fact he hated to see such things, the king proved right and just in his sentence. The usurper queen was dead. There would be no way now to make peace with the Lannisters.


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